Home Water Dispatch 01 - The Launch.

Home Water Dispatch 02 - Connecting Fish, Habitat, and People

Home Water Dispatch 03 - Will fish just move somewhere else if their natal spawning grounds or migration pathways are distrubed?

Home Water Dispatch 04 - I’m taking time at the World Fisheries Congress in Seattle to reflect on how the discipline of recreational fisheries science, management, and conservation has grown over the past few decades. It is SO noticeable.

Home Water Dispatch 05 (Part 1) - I attended the Saltwater Fishing Expo in New Jersey to present about Keep Fish Wet's campaign called Stripers In Our Hand and why science-based best practices are so important for the future of striped bass. What I reflect on in this episode is how all of those in attendance, including anglers, angling experts and pros, industry representatives, magazine editors, government agencies, and scientists were in agreement about the need for grassroots efforts to change social norms related to how striped bass are caught, handled, and released. Go check out https://www.keepfishwet.org/stripers-in-our-hands and share what you learn.

Home Water Dispatch 05 (Part 2) - For this episode I'm on the bank of the Hudson River where I reflect on some sentiments that were conveyed yesterday during the striped bass conservation and management seminars at the Saltwater Fishing Expo in New Jersey. Bottom line is that we need both top down management AND grassroots efforts that are solidly informed by science, otherwise our striped bass stocks will continue to pay the price.

Home Water Dispatch 06 (Part 1) - Flying from Buenos Aires to Corrientes (Argentina) to learn more about the diversity of habitats Golden Dorado reside in, meet some collaborators, and understand conservation issues for such a cool fish species. A huge thanks to SET Fly Fishing for helping to facilitate the trip and partnering in some much needed science. Also a huge thanks to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) for funding genetics/genomics research that is informing additional studies on the movement ecology of Golden Dorado.

Home Water Dispatch 06 (Part 2) - On the banks of the Upper Parana River, Corrientes, Argentina, I reflect on regulated rivers, and how dams can lead to fragmentation of fish populations, impacting movements of species such as Golden Dorado.

Home Water Dispatch 06 (Part 3) - From deep inside the Iberia Wetlands, Corrientes, Argentina, I reflect on how diverse wetland habitats support high biodiversity, including fish such as Golden Dorado. I also muse over how re-wilding and protection of such biodiverse places can be focal areas for eco-tourism that can amplify conservation efforts and provide sustainable economic support for local communities.

Home Water Dispatch 06 (Part 4) - For the last video from my trip to Corrientes, I’m on the edge of the Isoro Wetlands where I relect on the role recreational fisheries can play a vital role in a tourism-based economy, and how the impressive and progressive regulations in Corrientes can help minimize the impacts of angling on species such as Golden Dorado.

Home Water Dispatch 07 (Part 1) - From the end of Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, The Bahamas, I reflect on the ground-breaking science done here that revealed where bonefish go to spawn, including some very cool behaviors we woudn’t expect from a benthivor that is typically thought of as a creature of the flats. Check out some of the cool videos of bonefish pre-spawning aggregations on my FishFoward channel.

Home Water Dispatch 07 (Part 2) - I use my location inbeween The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute (Eleuthera, The Bahamas) to reflect on how the integration of authentic research with place-based experiential education can create more informed advocates and activists for a sustainable future on Mother Earth.

Home Water Dispatch 07 (Part 3) - I’m standing in my former home waters of Kemps Creek, Eleuthera, The Bahamas, and reflect on the immense amount of bonefish research that has been done at this location, the adjacent waters, and at the Cape Eleuthera Institute.

Home Water Dispatch 07 (Part 4) - Some additional observations in Kemps Creek, Eleuthera, The Bahamas, reminded me of some cool research conducted via the Cape Eleuthera Institute that lead to some important discoveries about juvenile bonefish.

Home Water Dispatch 08 - I use my time on Cape Cod during the Cheeky Schoolie Tournament to reflect on the 'research angler' approach I use in my lab to build capacity and community around the science needed to create informed advocates and activist for the conservation of recreational fisheries.

Home Water Dispatch 09 (Part 1) - Using the view of some of home waters to share about the relationship between water temperature and dissolved oxygen, and what this all means for fish.

Home Water Dispatch 09 (Part 2) - Reflecting on how water temperature influences the metabolism of fish, and that this all means when we 'exercise' fish on the end of a fishing line.

Home Water Dispatch 09 (Part 3) - How water density is influenced by water temperature, and what can happen to dissolved oxygen concentrations at the bottom of thermally stratified lakes thanks to decomposition. I also chat a bit about water quality.

Home Water Dispatch 09 (Part 4) - What challenges are created by historical dams, especially in a rapidly changing environment?

Home Water Dispatch 09 (Part 5) - Even small barriers can impact the movement patterns of fish and flow of nutrients. Is this another deadbeat dam?

Home Water Dispatch 10 (Part 1) - Reflecting on the distribution of Keep Fish Wet Toolkits to all the fishing guides on Kiritimati (Christmas Island). Building capacity for sustainable recreational fisheries thanks to a wonderful collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resources and The Ambleve Bedrock Foundation.

Home Water Dispatch 10 (Part 2) - Reflecting on what 'sustainable development' means for a place like Kiritimati (Christmas Island) and the indigenous community that this atoll ecosystem belongs to. There is a lot to unpack especially given the history of colonialism (e.g., nuclear testing grounds) and contemporary environmental pressures (e.g., climate change), all while pondering what kind of local economics actives can promote sustainable growth.

Home Water Dispatch 11 - Confronting my own bias when it comes to mass market, high density tourism. Amazing what happens when you stop and observe with an open mind.

Home Water Dispatch 12 - Using my office at UMass Amherst to reflect on funding that is needed to do science and social science that will fill knowledge gaps that are currently slowing down our ability to conserve our fish and their home waters. Included in this is raising the funds to support graduate students and post-doctoral fellows that are the next generation of leaders that can continue on with these efforts.

Home Water Dispatch 13 - Getting ready to teach about Climate Change in my sophomore fish conservation class, and use the topic and setting to reflect on how we need to vote for leaders who believe the objective evidence that climate change in real, that is caused by humans, and that we need to take aggressive action to reverse the negative effects.

Home Water Dispatch 14 - While on Anegada in the British Virgin Islands tagging sharks with a non-profit called Beyond The Reef, I learned about another one of their initiatives ~ recovering ghost nets. Ghost nets are commercial fishing nets that have been lost, discarded, or abandoned. As they drift in the ocean currents they can entangle marine mammals and other sea life, and wash up on delicate coral reefs. They can also contribute to the rapidly growing issues of microplastics as they break down. Check out Beyond The Reef and their grassroots efforts: https://1beyondthereef.com/abandoned-fishing-gear

[and SO SORRY for the in and out of focus - the variable lighting was awkward]